How to I Get Started in Coaching

Q9- I have decided to make a career change to become a high school teacher and basketball coach. I am attending Indiana University to obtain my degree. Do you have any suggestions on how to get started in basketball coaching?

Amber

I am attending Miami (OH) University majoring in secondary education with a minor in coaching. I really want to coach basketball when I graduate. My question is how to get started?

Kieron Boyleka

Coaches, We have been getting a substantial amount of questions from young people interested in getting into coaching and though I'd respond to this type of question so assist the "next" generation of coaches. First I will say this. There are a tremendous amount of coaches that get into the profession for all the wrong reasons. They want to stand out of the crowd, they like controlling people, they think they'll make big money and see stars in their eyes. The facts are that coaching is not much different than being a player. Only 1 percent of 1 percent of the top coaches ever make the "big time". What most young people don't realize is that these coaches have survived and paid their dues. In almost all of the highly successful coaches biography's you will find that they started out coaching youth teams. I was reading an article on Del Harris, the Los Angeles Lakers coach just this week, and read where he started out coaching junior high school girls and boys. There is a lot of misconception about what it take to be a coach.

What it takes I believe is a true love for the game, for the young people who play it, and a desire to use basketball as a tool for teaching greater life values in terms of work ethics, interpersonal relationships, and teamwork. If you lack this love for the game, then on late Friday night some year down the road when all your friends and family are having a socially good time, and you won't be in a dark corner of your office reviewing the video's from the last game which your team was destroyed. There isn't a successful coach alive who hasn't make tremendous personal sacrifices to teach young people the game. If you're not willing to make those kind of sacrifices, where you're all alone, doing the dirty work when every else is having the fun, you'll never make it as a coach. If you can't have compassion for the young person that just missed a shot which cost your team a championship, or constructively discipline and offer reasonable solutions to your players because of their errors, then you'll never make it as a coach.

So where do you begin. If you wanted to become a surgeon what would you do? You'd study medical books, and observe an emergency ward or operation. You'd go to school (whether at a University or the school of being an assistant for an experience and knowledgeable head coach) and pay your dues. You need to find a mentor, that experienced coach who can teach you more in two or three season based on their 20 or 30 years in the game, than you can learn from reading a textbook or taking basketball classes. And when you first start out you need to donate your time. Then you'll see if you really want to coach. Magic Johnson, once said he'd play the game for no money and still love it. I think the best coaches would say the same thing.

While at the University, take a junior high or grade school team. Try to find a program with an experienced head coach to learn from. Then combine what you are learning in your university schooling with practical life experiences. I've taken a lot of theory classes in my time, but those theory classes didn't help too much under the pressure of decisions which come down to experience and knowledge base. It use to be you could volunteer your time for colleges and universities however newer NCAA rules severely restrict this practice. There are examples of former players who step right into college coaching jobs, or the more prominent practice of ex-NBAers becoming NBA assistants or head coaches. The trend is this direction because they have had previous exposure to all of the sophistication and complexities of the game at those levels. Set realistic goals for yourself and start with a level you can achieve some success in terms of developing productive players.

Secondly, realize that modern basketball isn't just about teaching basic skills. It's also about developing athletic ability, so it would be wise to learn about how the body uses energy and ways for improving running technique. Learn about strength training, and long term conditioning programs.

Finally, attend clinics, talk to other coaches, you can never do enough in terms of adding to your knowledge library. I've been in the game of basketball over 30 years, and spend nearly 20 coaching at a high level. I'm still amazed at all the new things I see and learn by talking to other coaches, and sharing ideas. If you have aspirations of coaching on the higher levels but don't have experience at teaching the basics, your chances of surviving aren't too good. Like in any profession, your knowledge base must be built from the ground up. Learn about each of the fundamentals first. Then proceed to simple offenses and defenses. With each level you grow into, you'll add more knowledge to your library. Most important remember that person who thinks they know it all, has stopped learning. My last comments to you young coaches is be creative and inventive. After spending a couple hours at the Portland Airport a few years back listening to Bob Knight and Pete Newell, I was amazed at how they sat at a lounge table drinking a coke and continued to draw plays on a napkin for over an hour attempting to find new and better ways to teach a skill, a drill, or teach quick decision making. If the best coaches do this, shouldn't the beginners.

Thanks for Asking the Coach